Scars
by Riykon
Summary: -Shades Children- A single memorial, created in honor of the ones who died in the Change... But the next generation knows nothing of it... Gold-eye wishes to change that, but re-opens the scars of the past to those who don't wish to look back...


Hello!!! I've deleted all my fics and decided to start anew, and what better way than to start it off with a Shade's Children story. Bear with me now, I'm getting a bit rusty. Wait… Don't go!!!!! Short prologue, that's what this is going to be. Gold-eye's English had dramatically improved… ;;;

**_Summary:_**** _There are always memories that will never fade, no matter how much you wish to let them go. But even years later, when the stars can shine freely in your soul- how do you pass on the story of the past to the children of the future? What would be more beneficial- hiding the truth, or telling it outright? Gold-eye passes down his story in a single, sorrowful bedtime story…a story where there is no fairy-tale ending- just the bleak truth._**

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"Gold-eye, are you going _there_ again?" A young woman asked impatiently. "You go there every other day, on top of all your work!" Her foot tapped against the kitchen floor, as she partially turned her head to look at Gold-eye. She held a knife in her hand, gripping it tightly as she chopped her vegetables in preparation for tomorrow's dinner, as if it was the only weapon she had. Perhaps, in this world where guards were slowly let down, it was.

Gold-eye looked at his wife sorrowfully for a few moments until he was unable to bear Ninde's stare any longer. "Ninde, dear, I'm sorry… But… It's that time again where I need to gather my thoughts. Besides, it's almost… that day." His voice faltered as he reached the last line, glancing down at the floor. Light flickered across his face, a light bulb's filament breaking. In the dark of the night, it left only two light bulbs left shining.

"Do you realize how many of these _anniversaries_ you have?" Ninde said, her voice rising to the point where she was nearly yelling. "One for Petar and his friend Jamie- or whatever his name was-, one where you met Shade, one where Ella and Drum…" Her voice faltered, thinking of their friends. "One where Ella and Drum… where they…"   
"Ninde- don't. Just… don't. I'll have plenty of time to reminisce about it tomorrow. Over there." Gold-eye sighed. "It's the only place that I can repay some debts… Like to the owners of this house," he said. He glanced guiltily around him, the house's 20-year-old soft blue paint peeling, listening to the floorboards creak. "I know, don't say that we don't even _know_ the people who lived here before, but can't you imagine? All the care put in this house, all to vanish in one day that they didn't know of?"

The house really was old. From the outside, it looked homely enough, with freshly planted flowers stemming out from everywhere. Bushes replaced the space where life was formerly all void, statues sitting out on the front steps. It gave a wild look to the house, and yet a source of comfort. But inside, the comfort would dwindle- or double, by certain standards. Wallpaper was peeling, paint was peeling, the floors were dead, and termites decided to inhabit it while no one lived there.

"Gold-eye, can't you just understand?" Ninde cried. "I don't want to deal with any of this past stuff anymore! I just want to live in the present, not in the past, and I don't want you to obsess over what may happen in the future, either!" Ninde hung her head, putting down her knife right next to the unevenly chopped vegetables. "I don't mean for this to upset you… But can't you just let things go?"

Gold-eye stared at the young woman. Most, if not all of the time, she agreed with Gold-eye. He always thought that Ninde wanted to look back, but everything seemed so wrong all of the sudden… "Ninde," he said softly, as she averted her glance to obsess over the unevenly chopped vegetables. "I don't want you to suffer. You know that." Gold-eye strayed over to Ninde, pulling her chin out to look at him. "But you have to remember that I'm not you. Until I can find a reason to, I'll live in the past… Reminisce."

"Am I not a good enough reason?" Ninde asked sorrowfully. "What about our children?"

"I'm an avenger of sorts, Ninde. Even if it may not bring me happiness- I wish to see that our story is carried on. That everyone would understand," Gold-eye said. His voice was kind, yet set in stone the way he said it. "I'm different from the boy you met a long time ago."

Ninde stared blankly at her husband. An uneasy silence swept through the room, as Gold-eye returned her look. She had found such long staring contests at first- the pure gold of his eyes didn't seem natural. But in time, she had gotten used to it. However, it had been a long time since debates like such had happened; and she discovered they were rather unnerving.

"Alright then, Gold-eye. I guess Ella and Drum deserve some commemoration… after… all that…" Ninde choked on the last words. Tears grew in her eyes as she recalled the day the memorial had been opened. Gold-eye had respected Ninde's feelings then; he didn't tell them of the real heroes that saved them.

So their legacy went untold, known only by a few who knew of Shade and his betrayals.

"But… If you're going… Take me with you this time." Ninde's voice was calm, almost demanding.

Gold-eye didn't seemed shocked by the remark; in fact, he looked rather pleased. "That's my girl, Ninde," he said. "But what about the kids?"

Ninde paused for a moment, then said, "Take them with us. I'm not sure that we can hide it from them forever- I mean, you're always gone. And I think… That we might be better… If we took everything that was locked away and showed it to them. Physical _and_ mental possessions.

"Gold-eye," Ninde murmured. "I don't want to lose anyone close to me again… I don't want to see the ones dear to me die again. So… This is for Ella… And Drum's… sake…" Ninde's voice quivered again.

"In all those movies I used to watch, there always seemed to be a happily ever after story… And I hated those movies for that. I loved them, but at the same time I loathed them, knowing that such a thing like 'happily-ever-after' was void in the Change… But I knew what I wanted, more than anything. For my life to be a happily-ever-after story," Ninde's eyes watered, attempting to hold back tears. "But now… It seems that no matter how I try, it will never happen."

Gold-eye stared, speechless. Ninde usually wasn't one for hysterics, but when she was, she went crazy. "I thought, that after everything we've been through, a little luck had to shine down on us… B- b- but… Have you ever felt that hopelessness? When you don't know what to do, when the easiest thing to do seems to be the most painful? I wish life would just turn out the way we planned, for once… I didn't want you to go to that memorial, again and again. Every night, when you weren't there, I'd sit up and wonder what could have happened to you. Every noise I hear scares the living hell out of me. And I thought, that if you really loved me, you'd stay…" Ninde sobbed. "I was wrong. But… I couldn't help but think that… All that darkness around me, taunting me with the unknown…"  
Gold-eye decided it was time to interrupt. "Ninde. I'm not the one living in the past. You are." She jerked her head up. "I'm not the one living in constant misery because I can't let go. I'm trying to help us let go. But in the process… Ella and Drum have to be remembered. Our story has to be remembered." He waited until Ninde's breaths were no longer in gasps, but relatively calmed down. "So… are we going tomorrow?"

Ninde nodded. "I'll go prepare. Something tells me, that if I ever go there, I'll never want to come back…" Ninde gave a thin smile. "Thanks, Gold-eye. I don't know what I could've done without you."

"Mommy? Daddy?" A voice emerged from the creaking steps. A boy around 6 stood there, all dressed in his pajamas. "I couldn't sleep…"

"Sorry, Drum. Were we too loud for you?" Ninde quickly apologized.

"No… That wasn't it… I just couldn't. It must be too hot outside or something," Drum said impatiently. "All those crickets are probably chirping too much."

Ninde and Gold-eye smiled at each other. "You'd best go to bed now, Drum. There's a long day ahead of us. We're going on a trip tomorrow."  
Drum's face brightened. "Really? To where?"

"Secret," said Gold-eye with a smile. "You'll see tomorrow. So go to sleep."

"Could you read me a story, daddy?"

"Sure. What do you want to hear this time?" Gold-eye said. "Let's make it a short one for tonight."

"I don't want a fairy tale story… How about a real one, from when you were a kid?" Drum suggested brightly. Gold-eye and Ninde stared at each other for a moment in shock.

After an awkward moment of silence, Gold-eye complied. "Okay, sport. Now, let's get you into bed and I'll tell you a short story."

Ninde looked at Gold-eye, shivering. It was too soon for them to know… Even though she was the one who suggested it, it was too soon for them to know…

_"Ninde, I'm not the one living in the past…You are. Just let go…"_ Gold-eye's voice rang through her head. As Gold-eye turned his head to see Ninde's reaction, she smiled.

"Go ahead, Gold-eye."

She watched them climb up the stairs, then smiled to herself. She didn't know how Gold-eye would carry it through, but she had total faith in her husband.

_'This is for you, Ella, Drum. I'm letting go in memory of you.'_ Ninde thought. _'And tonight, this is our happily-ever-after.'_

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… I didn't feel like writing the whole thing, so I've split this into two chapters. Tomorrow's my birthday… Whee!! Finally getting out of being 12, and turning 13… Tomorrow. Please review, and tell me your impressions! It's kind of a strange plot, I know, and I think I'm the first to do something like this, but… Well then… Flames are accepted, and will be counted as reviews. So, if you flame, I will continue. So there.


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